It is an irony that those on death row for the Rajiv Gandhi assassination had a peripheral role in the act. It was carried out by the Black Tigers, the suicide squads of the LTTE, a shadowy group within the terrorist organisation. Other organisations, like Hamas, which is fighting
Israel
,? have induldged in suicide bombings; but the LTTE has made suicide bombing? an article of faith, with the Black Tigers (Karim Puligal) the most honoured members of the organisation, entitled to one last meal with Prabhakaran himself before setting out on their missions.
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On May 21, 1991, the LTTE adopted suicide bombing to assassinate Rajiv Gandhi, at an election rally in Sriperumbudur near
Madras
. Since then suicide bombers have killed Sri Lankan president Ranasinghe Premadasa (May 1, 1993) and Presidential candidate Gamini Dissanayake (October 23, 1995). This tactic has also been used to attack army convoys and to overrun army bases. For example, in the assault on the Jaffna Fort in the early 90s,? the LTTE used 14-year-old cadre wrapped in explosives to defeat a 200-strong garrison and capture the fort. The LTTE also used this tactic to indiscriminately truck bomb of? the? Central Bank on President's street in
Jaffna
in January 1996. Over a 100 innocent civilians were killed and more than? 1,000 injured.
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Though the LTTE was founded in 1974, suicide bombing was only accepted as a tactic in the late 1980s. The first instance of a suicide bombing was on July 5, 1987, when Captain Miller of the LTTE? Black Tigers drove a van full of explosives into a military camp at Nelliaddy. More than 128 soldiers were killed.
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What are the motivations of the Black Tigers, who regularly indulge in "Dry Runs" that could terrify normal person? None of the classical theorists on guerrilla warfare? like Mao, Lenin, or Che have advocated suicide bombing. The only comparable instance are Islamic militants in the
Middle East
. Their ideology believes that they will go straight to heaven. The LTTE is officially atheist and the cadre, being Hindus, believe in reincarnation of the soul. The LTTE ideologue Anton Balasingham made a speech in
Jaffna
in November 1995, claiming that "karma" was the reason for the untimely and unnatural deaths of Sinhala leaders who had "tormented the Tamils."
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In the LTTE's case, the motivation for suicide attacks seems to be a kind of en masse cult hysteria that the LTTE consciously cultivates by rituals like Martyr's Week promoting,? a cult of martyrdom, building of special cemeteries, naming of weapons after Black Tigers and, in short, the promise of honour after death. In fact, the "dry runs", of the Black Tigers, recorded on videotape are enough to terrify the most courageous. Clearly, something more than courage is involved and the promise of honour beyond death is attractive to those who have nothing to gain in this life.? This becomes significant as most of the LTTE cadre now, come? from lower middle class backgrounds and easily accept such propaganda.
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Another powerful motivation for the LTTE's suicide cadre is that the LTTE connects its ideology with a judicious use of symbols rooted in Tamil myth such as the tiger, the symbol of one of the most favourite Tamil gods, Murugan.It was? the emblem of the ancient Chola emperors, the concept of maram? (wrath), the concept of the brave mother (vira tayar) and the vira pen (brave woman) who sacrifice their loved ones for the war. This is a recurring theme in Purananuru poetry of the Sangam period between 500 B.C. and 200 A.D. The LTTE cadre is expected? to conform to the ideals of the past. A failure is not that of an individual, letting? down the? organisation, it is failure to live up to the ideals of a glorious past.
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The motivation of the? LTTE Black Tiger cadre is similar to that of the Kamikaze? pilots of the Japanese airforce in the Second World War. They would crash their explosive laden planes against American warships crying "I die for the Emperor." They were deluded into believing that they were carrying on the ancient Samurai tradition, that they were living up to ancient warrior ideals, that they were fulfilling a sacrifice demanded by the Emperor, and would face tremendous shame and humiliation if they surrendered.? The same is true for the? LTTE.
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